The Creative Rebellion

Re-igniting the spark, once and for all.

“Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

- Howard Thurman

I want to share with you a song I just released. It’s the first single from an album that will be out later this year.

For me, the song is about reconnecting with what lights you up inside, which in today’s world can feel like an act of rebellion.

You can give it a listen on Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon.

Besides exposing more ears to the magical sounds of the 5-string banjo, I hope that the song also inspires some listeners to re-connect with the things that light them up inside (click here to read the lyrics). For many, that means nurturing a long-dormant creative side.

Born Creators

As children, we are all prolific creators.

Give a child a crayon, a set of blocks, or a horn to blow and they’re off to the races. No doubt, no hesitation - just relentless creation.

For a small number, that creative habit persists. For most, it slowly fades for any number of reasons: fear, doubt, obligations, expectations, and more. We don’t stop creating because the impulse to do so fades, we stop because things get in the way.

Yet, creativity is fundamental to who we are.

If I had to describe the uniqueness of human cognition in a single word, it would be imagination.

We are all blessed with the boundless ability to imagine things that do not exist in the world. It’s an ability that has been central to our success as a species, along with our capacity to transform our ideas into original creations and bring something into the world that never existed before.

And just as there is no such thing as “musical” and “non-musical” people, there is no such thing "creative” and “uncreative” people. Our differing abilities are not a reflection of what we are capable of, but rather what we have spent time cultivating.

A substantial body of research shows that creating improves the health of the immune, cardiovascular, brain and nervous systems while also boosting happiness and well being.

But it’s not just that having creative outlets is good for us. It’s also that a lack of them is detrimental.

Like physical activity, our need for creative expression is so deeply ingrained in our biology that our body and brain expect it. So, when we don't engage in it regularly, our health and well-being suffer.

I reconnected with music during my final year of medical school. I received a guitar as a Christmas present that year and a banjo the following year.

As you may know, medical education mainly consists of the unrelenting acquisition of a mind-numbing, ever-expanding mountain of information. For better or worse, there are few real outlets for creative expression during that time. But, until music re-entered my life, I didn't realize how starved for them I had been. I’d acclimated to a creativity-free life, oblivious to its consequences. It’s all too easy to do.

“Every child is an artist until he’s told he’s not an artist.”

- John Lennon

As I said, I hope that the song inspires some listeners to re-connect with their creative side. To take the time and give themselves the permission to write, draw, sing, compose, dance, paint, sculpt, weld, build, or do whatever it is they need to do to get their original ideas out into the world.

These days, I spend quite bit of time thinking about how Artificial Intelligence will transform our lives. And I often wonder what we humans will still do if one day intelligent machines eliminate the need for "jobs" in the traditional sense. Each time I come to the same conclusion:

We will still make art. For ourselves and for each other.

Because the value of art is in the making of it.

TED Talk: Why Art Thrives At Burning Man

“What if we redefined art’s value not by its price tag but by the emotional connection it creates between the artist and the audience, or the benefit it gives our society, or the fulfillment it gives the artists themselves?”

The above quote was came from Smithsonian curator Nora Atkinson during her wonderful TED Talk on our deep need to make art that matters (and why we’ll always keep doing it).

Book Recommendation: Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

“Steal Like An Artist” is grounded in the premise that everyone is creative, and its mission is to help you unlock that creativity.

As the title suggests, it also encourages you to learn and build off the work of others. Art is never created in a vacuum, and all great art builds on other works. In many ways, we’re all taking part in one big beautiful collective human art project. Every work of art is really made by us all.

It’s a fantastic book for kick-starting your creative side.

That’s all for this installment of The Brainjo Connection - now get out there and start making stuff.

Josh

p.s. - if there’s a creative passion that you’ve decided to reconnect with, please share it in the comments! It’s sure to inspire others (and make a bit more likely to follow-through as well ;-) ) .